wheelbarrows. The time we got home we realised that our houses had been destroyed and all our properties burnt. - including everything that I had harvested. They damaged almost everything. Case 2 [Mashonaland Central]: Was coming out of his house in the evening when he met 3 people whom he identified as Mapfudzeni - youth leader, Mapiti and the village head, Admire, who was leading them. One of the attackers held him by his jacket and accused him of supporting the MDC. He slipped off his jacket and fled. He fell into a trench and his attacker could not find him. They went back to the house and burnt 4 of his son's houses to the ground, 6 of his own and his property which he had hidden in the bush was also collected and put on the fire. Took away one of his oxen, 3 goats and chickens to slaughter while celebrating. The total number of violations mentioned significantly increased from April to May, but the total number of cases of torture reported declined. 34 Abductions, thefts, and destruction all increased significantly, as did the number of witnesses reported to the violations: the number of cases reporting witnesses was 12% in April, but grew to 22% in May. 35 Table 3 Place of violation, March to May 2008 Violation at “Base” Violation at “Pungwe” March 6% 3% April 8% 5% May 19%* 11% *p=0.01 It was also evident that there was a steady growth in the reports of violations taking place at “bases” and public meetings, or “pungwes”, and this was significantly higher in May than in the previous months. This is consonant with the general increase in violations over the three months. Thus, the analysis of the data shows a steady increase in the number of alleged violations from March to April, with MDC members being the predominant victims, but also an increase in the number of election observers too. This latter finding fits with the outpouring of rhetoric against groups “rigging” the March elections, but also with a strategy to ensure that there would be few independent observers available for the June run-off. The data show an increase in the complaints against ZANU PF party members over the three months, with these groups being dominant during May. Interestingly, there was a rise in allegations against ZANU PF party members against a decrease in 34 35 April v May: Total number of violations [p=0.001]; Total number of torture cases [p=0.001]. April v May: Abductions [p=0.001]; Theft [p=0.001]; Destruction of property [p=0.001]; Number of witnesses mentioned [p=0.001].